Monday, 19 March 2012

Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh Jattana Babbar

Since the birth of the Khalsa in the Land of Five Rivers, countless
sons and daughters of Punjab have given their lives to protect their
freedom, their people and their natural resources. Just like the looting
foreign invaders have taken different forms in the army of Ahmad Shah
Abdali, the British colonialists, and today’s foreign and Indian
capitalists, Punjab’s organized resistance has manifested itself from
time to time in the Babbar Akalis, the Gadhr Party and the Kharkoo
Jathebandis of the Sikh Liberation Movement.

Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh Jattana Babbar

Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh Jattana Babbar was one of the Sikh
Liberation Movement’s heroes, who struggled endlessly to end the looting
and subjugation of Punjab. Bhai Sahib was a dedicated and determined
Naujavaan – steadfast on his principles – who made the ultimate
sacrifice for the liberation of the Sikh Kaum. At the young age of 25,
Bhai Balwinder Singh left the peace of his own home and his education to
to fight for an independent Sikh homeland. Bhai Sahib entered the
battlefield fearlessly and quickly rose to prominence in the Malwa
region of Punjab. Recognizing his leadership qualities and his Gursikhi
Jeevan, Bhai Balwinder Singh was soon established as Babbar Khalsa’s
Malwa Area Commander.

Shaheed Bhai Charanjit Singh 'Channa' Babbar

Bhai Balwinder Singh and his companions, such as, Jathedar Bhagat
Singh Bhagta (Ropar), Bhai Harmeet Singh Bhaowal and Bhai Charanjeet
Singh ‘Channa’ were responsible for many courageous actions in their
area and struck fear in the hearts of the police. One such action took
place on July 23, 1990 in Chandigarh’s Sector 26 at the SYL Canal’s head
office.

Since the British colonizers made their exit from the Indian
subcontinent and transferred power to India’s Brahmin, “free” Hindu
India has oppressed, looted and exploited the people of Punjab
unceasingly. One such scheme to cripple the Sikh’s of Punjab
economically and ecologically, was to divert and steal Punjab’s river
water. With this end in mind, the Satluj-Yamuna-Link canal was proposed
in 1982 to carry Punjab’s river water to neighboring Haryana and despite
the democratic protest of Punjab’s people, construction of the project
began over the next few years. Remembering the words of Guru Gobind
Singh Jee that, “when all peaceful means fail, it is righteous to raise
the sword,” Bhai Balwinder Singh Jatana, Bhai Jagtar Singh Panjola, Bhai
Balbir Singh Fauji and Bhai Harmeet Singh Bhaowal decided to stop the
looting of Punjab’s resources “by any means necessary.”

On the morning of the 23rd, all four of the Guru’s Singhs approached
the head office on scooters while the chief engineers of the SYL project
held a meeting on the second floor of the building. The jatha of
Babbar’s entered the office casually and made their way to the meeting
place with silenced pistols. Like lightning, they struck – eliminating
M.S. Sikri and Avtar Aulakh, the engineers who were collaborating with
the Brahmin Sarkar to loot Punjab’s resources and livelihood. Just as
casually as they had entered, the Singhs walked out of the office and
left on the same scooters they had come on. The government was shaken by
the audacity of the action and immediately halted the SYL project.

Shaheed Bhai Balwinder Singh Jattana & Family Members

On August 29th of the following summer, Jujharoo Singhs attacked SSP
Sumedh Saini, killing his driver and bodyguard. Saini survived the
attack with few injuries and his suspicion immediately fell on Bhai
Balwinder Singh. In an act of revenge, Saini sent his group of police
cat Nangs, led by Ajit Poohla, to Bhai Balwinder Singh’s village home in
Jatana. Upon arriving they found Bhai Sahib’s 80 year old grandmother,
40 year old aunt, 13 year old cousin and his 5 year old nephew suffering
from polio. Nang Poohla and his cronies, proceeded to murder all four
family members and burnt their bodies along with the home. Illustrating
his unshakable dedication to the liberation struggle, when Bhai Sahib
learned of the attack, he remained calm and said, “Their plan is to
divert us from the path of freedom. They kill our families and expect us
to kill innocent people (Hindus) in return. Sikhs do not kill anyone
out of anger. We will be harming the movement by resorting to the
police’s tactics.”

It was a few days later, on September 4, 1991, that an informer
alerted the police of Bhai Sahib’s whereabouts – hoping to collect the
Rs. 16 lakh reward on his head. It was the afternoon of the fourth when
Bhai Balwinder Singh and Bhai Charanjeet Singh ‘Channa’ were driving
towards Sadhugarh village when they saw a police checkpoint. They
abruptly turned their jeep around and ran into nearby fields for an
encounter with the police. Both Singh’s had very little ammunition and
were soon martyred by the police.

It’s this blood that has watered the fertile Land of Five Rivers that
invigorates us to continue our struggle and never give up in the face
of the oppressor. As Punjab’s waters are continuously looted, our land
and resources stolen and our people butchered mercilessly, we must look
to our history for guidance and inspiration to continue our fight for
Azadi. Khalistan is our manzil and no matter how hard the Brahmin sarkar
tries to break us or the cowards try to sway us… Jang jari rahegi…

“Our struggle will continue as long as a handful of men, be they
foreign or native, or both in collaboration with each other, continue to
exploit the labour and resources of our people. Nothing shall deter us
from this path.”
-Kartar Singh Sarabha